One Look, Three Budgets

When we see celebrities, fashion editors and street style fashionistas, we’re often tempted to say that they can look as good as they do because of their unlimited funds. “Real” people could never pull that style off without taking a second mortgage on their home, or going without food for a few weeks.

You know what? That’s only partially true.

It’s nice to have disposable income to throw at the latest designer wear and accessories. It’s also nice to have a professional stylist tell you what to wear each day and provide you bags of gifted designer clothing. Ultimately, that’s not reality for most of us. What IS reality, is that you can get the same exact looks as your favorite celebrity, but for much, much less.

Style is truly limitless — it’s all about how creative you’re willing to get to score the look you want. With the right styling and a bit of shopping elbow grease you can find quality pieces that look almost identical to their designer originals.

Take this street style look, for example. It’s a great transitional winter/spring outfit that can be replicated at every budget!

See exactly how I took the “One Look Three Budgets” challenge below:

First, let’s tackle the high end.

Coming in at a whopping $4690, this is not for the faint of wallet. However, as you’ll see below, most of the cost is in the accessories (shoes, bag, sunglasses) vs. the fashion pieces. If you ARE going to splurge on anything, there is no better place than your accessories. A great accessory will instantly elevate any of your go-to outfits. Best of all, your cost per wear plummets with frequent use.

Next, let’s take a look at the slightly more palatable mid-range — still NOT cheap at $973, but not over the top.

The biggest difference you’ll notice is not necessarily in the clothes, but again, the accessories. I would say, this is the “sweet spot” of shopping. You can still get great quality materials, but not go broke doing it.

Last but certainly not least, the low. For $417 you can score a 6-piece classic look INCLUDING real leather boots, a suede bag and a coat. I think that’s pretty impressive shopping.

Just one word of advice: As you enter the “budget” (i.e. under $50) category, pay a bit more attention to fabrication and construction. Try to weed out those cheap polyesters and faux leather/suede that will just fall apart after a few wears and/or provide an unflattering fit.